BOOK REVIEW: Bruce Springsteen, American Poet and Prophet

Tuesday

Feb 18, 2014 at 12:01 AMFeb 18, 2014 at 9:58 PM

It made a lot of headlines when Rutgers announced last year that it would offer a freshman seminar on the theology of Springsteen lyrics, but I’m not sure why it’s news that Bruce’s work would warrant academic consideration: He’s been commenting on American society and the human condition for four decades, and selling gazillions of records while doing it. That makes him one of our most entrenched artistic voices — if Lady Gaga warrants a course (or two), Springsteen DEFINITELY does.

The trick for any would-be teacher of Springsteen, of course, is finding the right textbook, and Scarecrow Press has a good contender: “Bruce Springsteen, American Poet and Prophet” by Donald L. Deardorff II hits just the right tone, tackling Springsteen’s work in themed chapters rather than shackling itself to a chronological take. It’s definitely academic — “breezy” is not a word I’d associate with Deardorff’s prose — but it’s also thoughtful and trenchant, and would be a perfect introduction to Springsteen’s themes for someone just wading into the canon.

After dispensing with biographical information in the first chapter — along with a well-executed and comprehensive timeline of Bruce’s career — Deardorff dives into themes like the American quest for fulfillment, the plight of the working class and “reinventing masculinity,” all through the lens of Springsteen’s collected work. If you’re looking for a jaundiced eye, be forewarned: Deardorff is a clear fan, and is unequivocal in his admiration of Springsteen’s “remarkable ability to be the critical conscience of a people tired of war and ineffective government while still being a man who clearly loves America and what he believes it can achieve.”

Deardorff, a professor of literature and literary criticism at Cedarville University, uses that premise as a jumping-off point for the essays that follow, and they tend to focus on Springsteen’s ability to go beyond commentary and into the realm of redemption. In the masculinity chapter, “Boys Try to Look So Hard,” he analyzes downtrodden male Springsteen characters right up through “Jack of All Trades” from “Wrecking Ball,” noting that “he does not portray them as pathetic people … They are to be empathized with and even admired for their ability to keep fighting in the rubble of their broken dreams.”

There are a few unfortunate issues with “American Poet and Prophet,” most of them having to do with sloppy editing — song lyrics and titles are fairly widely misquoted, and at one point it’s mentioned that “The River” includes a cover of Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away” (presumably referring to “Fade Away,” which — spoiler alert! — is not the same song). Maybe an intern worked on that chapter, but it’s disturbing to think impressionable young students of Springsteen could be led astray if they didn’t know better.

(I’ll also admit to feeling vaguely unsettled when I found out that a previous edition of this series, not by Deardorff, was called “Bon Jovi: America’s Ultimate Band.” Seriously.)

Still, Deardorff’s painstaking thematic arguments for the significance of Springsteen’s work make the book an overall success — he even makes a convincing case for Springsteen as a spiritual leader, noting that “unlike traditional religious narratives, Springsteen’s vision has no history of institutional abuse, coercion, or violence.” I’d buy that, and if I was teaching a Springsteen course, I’d likely use “American Poet and Prophet” as my main text — or at least a corrected version of it. (Scarecrow Press, if you need a proofreader for the second edition, I’m available.)

Pete Chianca

It made a lot of headlines when Rutgers announced last year that it would offer a freshman seminar on the theology of Springsteen lyrics, but I’m not sure why it’s news that Bruce’s work would warrant academic consideration: He’s been commenting on American society and the human condition for four decades, and selling gazillions of records while doing it. That makes him one of our most entrenched artistic voices — if Lady Gaga warrants a course (or two), Springsteen DEFINITELY does.

The trick for any would-be teacher of Springsteen, of course, is finding the right textbook, and Scarecrow Press has a good contender: “Bruce Springsteen, American Poet and Prophet” by Donald L. Deardorff II hits just the right tone, tackling Springsteen’s work in themed chapters rather than shackling itself to a chronological take. It’s definitely academic — “breezy” is not a word I’d associate with Deardorff’s prose — but it’s also thoughtful and trenchant, and would be a perfect introduction to Springsteen’s themes for someone just wading into the canon.

After dispensing with biographical information in the first chapter — along with a well-executed and comprehensive timeline of Bruce’s career — Deardorff dives into themes like the American quest for fulfillment, the plight of the working class and “reinventing masculinity,” all through the lens of Springsteen’s collected work. If you’re looking for a jaundiced eye, be forewarned: Deardorff is a clear fan, and is unequivocal in his admiration of Springsteen’s “remarkable ability to be the critical conscience of a people tired of war and ineffective government while still being a man who clearly loves America and what he believes it can achieve.”

Deardorff, a professor of literature and literary criticism at Cedarville University, uses that premise as a jumping-off point for the essays that follow, and they tend to focus on Springsteen’s ability to go beyond commentary and into the realm of redemption. In the masculinity chapter, “Boys Try to Look So Hard,” he analyzes downtrodden male Springsteen characters right up through “Jack of All Trades” from “Wrecking Ball,” noting that “he does not portray them as pathetic people … They are to be empathized with and even admired for their ability to keep fighting in the rubble of their broken dreams.”

There are a few unfortunate issues with “American Poet and Prophet,” most of them having to do with sloppy editing — song lyrics and titles are fairly widely misquoted, and at one point it’s mentioned that “The River” includes a cover of Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away” (presumably referring to “Fade Away,” which — spoiler alert! — is not the same song). Maybe an intern worked on that chapter, but it’s disturbing to think impressionable young students of Springsteen could be led astray if they didn’t know better.

(I’ll also admit to feeling vaguely unsettled when I found out that a previous edition of this series, not by Deardorff, was called “Bon Jovi: America’s Ultimate Band.” Seriously.)

Still, Deardorff’s painstaking thematic arguments for the significance of Springsteen’s work make the book an overall success — he even makes a convincing case for Springsteen as a spiritual leader, noting that “unlike traditional religious narratives, Springsteen’s vision has no history of institutional abuse, coercion, or violence.” I’d buy that, and if I was teaching a Springsteen course, I’d likely use “American Poet and Prophet” as my main text — or at least a corrected version of it. (Scarecrow Press, if you need a proofreader for the second edition, I’m available.)

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